Far too often, writes Monique Patton Woody in her August Illinois Bar Journal article, “Discharged With Care,” my colleagues and I field calls and inquiries from hospitals regarding patients with mental illness and in need of discharge placement for various reasons, including homelessness, inability to live independently, or a need for transitional programming before returning to independent living. However, in these matters, placement is but one piece of the puzzle, Patton Woody notes.

The 10th Annual Minority Bar CLE Conference is onsite once again, allowing you to earn CLE credit while networking with colleagues in person! For those unable to travel, the program will also be available as a live webcast. So, plan to join us – onsite or online – for this opportunity to get the guidance and information you need on a number of practice areas as we tackle a variety of hot topic issues.

The YLD invites all members to participate in their Book Club event on November 9, 2022, at 6:00 p.m., via Zoom, featuring Stephen McGuire’s novel, "Fractured Power," a dark and haunting psychological thriller.

The Illinois Supreme Court Pretrial Implementation Task Force (Task Force) will host its third monthly town hall meeting on August 18 at noon via Zoom. The topic of this town hall meeting will be Pre-first Appearance Activities pursuant to the Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA). 

ISBA’s two-day Solo and Small Firm Conference is back, allowing you to earn CLE credit  while networking with colleagues in person once again! Join us in Springfield for this in-depth look at how to navigate the new normal. Get fresh ideas to help you adapt to the changes in the practice, learn how to defend your firm against cybersecurity breaches, discover which technology can help you manage your hybrid practice, and learn how to use social media in marketing.

Today, history was made by the ABA House of Delegates. In an age where other professionals are being bought and sold like commodities, the ABA's House of Delegates reaffirmed a decades old ABA policy that non-lawyer ownership of law firms, and fee splitting with non-lawyers is anathema to the legal profession and in direct conflict with the core values that have sustained our profession for generations. In the legal profession, protection of the public, particularly against predatory pecuniary policies is paramount, and will continue to be the primary focus of our profession.

On Tuesday, August 9, the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates formally adopted Resolution 402, which reaffirms longstanding ABA policy adopted in July 2000 that sharing legal fees with nonlawyers and the ownership or control of law practices by nonlawyers is inconsistent with the core values of the legal profession. The Resolution was sponsored and proposed by the Illinois State Bar Association.

Trusts, of course, are frequently utilized as asset-protection mechanisms. Still, writes Ira N. Helfgot in his August Illinois Bar Journal article, “From Illinois to Delaware,” many creditors are unfamiliar with how to proceed with collecting from trusts, particularly from Delaware trusts. Helfgot offers a primer for creditors attempting to collect their judgments against Illinois and Delaware trusts and explains what attorneys need to know about the differences between Delaware and Illinois trust instruments. 

The Illinois Supreme Court Pretrial Implementation Task Force (Task Force) posted on its website a new flowchart and considerations document on the setting of release conditions.

The Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee will hear comments on October 5, 2022, at a public hearing in Chicago on six proposals.